This Japanese artist can paint an entire dragon’s body with just one brush stroke.

The technique is called Hitofude-ryuu and dates from the early 1600s. It consists of drawing a brush along a canvas in one movement alternating soft and strong presses.

This artwork is believed to bring good fortune to the customers. Dragons facing upwards are said to bring luck while those that face downwards are said to protect.

As Hitofude-ryuu requires a detailed work, the artist in the video is only able to fully complete three to five images a day.

Hitofude-ryu is a traditional technique passed down since the Edo period in Japan where the artist draws the entire torso of a dragon in a single stroke. Because of this, it has been used as a good luck charm for endless money, customers, and romantic relationships. Dragons that face upwards are said to bring luck while those that face downwards are said to protect. The dragon's scales appear when he presses down hard and light in small spurts. His personal touch is to add "bonji" characters of a god that matches the customer to the dragon's jewel. For example if the customer is in retail, He'll draw the bonji of a merchant god, or if they are sick and want to wish for good health, he draw the bonji of a healing god.
He has a studio in Kyoto and paints each day. Since it requires a lot of detailed work and demands a lot of focus, he only paints between 3 and 5 images a day. He takes orders online and gets them from all around the world. When he goes abroad, he goes most often to art museums in Florida for small exhibits, performances, and galleries. He also goes to Mongolia and the Philippines. In the Philippines he does charities with a government official there, and they donate all the money from sales to charities.